Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told reporters Tuesday morning that egg prices have dropped by nearly $2 since the Trump administration initiated its biosafety strategy for combating H5N1 bird flu, which has decimated the poultry industry in recent months.
Late last month, Rollins announced that the Department of Agriculture would spend $1 billion to lower egg prices and curb the spread of the highly pathogenic avian influenza.
In addition to possibly importing up to 100 million eggs from foreign markets, Rollins’s plan included subsidizing biosecurity measures for poultry farms and continuing research on the efficacy of preventive vaccines for poultry.
“We’re more focused on how we bring the price of eggs down and the avian bird flu for everyone,” Rollins told reporters Tuesday morning. “A good piece of news we just got in the last day or two is that the average cost of a dozen eggs has gone down $1.85 since we announced our plan about a week and a half ago.”
@SecRollins: “The average cost of a dozen eggs has now gone DOWN $1.85 since we announced our plan about a week-and-a-half ago.” pic.twitter.com/TVmmbzcvrQ
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 11, 2025
The average price of a dozen large white eggs fell to $6.08 as of Tuesday, according to the USDA. Prices eclipsed $8 at the start of the month. They were $6.27 on Inauguration Day.
Egg prices back below where they were on Inauguration Day
A USDA report published in February found that egg prices had increased by approximately 53% since January 2024.
The price of eggs increased by nearly 14% from December to January, on top of an 8% increase from November to December.
Approximately 160 million chickens have been euthanized due to the virus in the past few months, contributing to the marked rise in egg prices.
Rollins noted for reporters Tuesday that egg prices are typically higher in March and April due to the Easter holiday.
“This is always the highest price for eggs,” she said.
